To step out in faith is terrifying. A few of us living in Thailand have likened life lately to a computer game….. Some days I jump off a cliff and land on a ledge, other days I fall down down down and boom. I’ve lost a life and start from the start of that level again. But each time I start the level I’ve learned something and I can now get further and further until YAY I’ve passed the level. It is so exciting to get to a new level, but now the challenge has increased. Its not what you want to see after you are exhausted from the previous level, but you have to trust that God only gives you what you can handle. This year has been leaps of faith for John and I. Stepping out and buying land that we have no money for. On top of this, we bought land with no paperwork. No paperwork? What does that mean? It means that someone else could come and take it off us at any point. Or the Forestry Department may decide that it is their land and arrest us for farming it. So why did we buy it? God told us. Did we feel like bad stewards of his money? HECK YES. We were terrified of failing God and the sponsors of the farm, but also tenaciously holding onto his promises and the peace that we felt when we prayed about the land. We had not told many people about the land’s details, but while we were back in Australia a lady approached me at Grow church and told me about a picture that God had given her. She said that God’s footprints were so deeply imprinted into our land that NO MAN could try and erase them. This land has been prepared for us and will be used for God’s Glory. Man, God really knows our hearts and brings His word at the perfect timing. When we arrived back in Thailand all the neighbours surrounding our farm came and told us that the Forestry Department was trying to arrest farmers in our area for farming Forest Land. They told us to not be seen on the farm during the day as we may get put in jail. Well…... My heart fell into my sweaty gumboots and I felt sick. I just wanted to sit in a corner and cry, until I remembered God’s promise to us. I called John right away and told him that he was not to fear as we are following God’s calling and His plan is always perfect. Anyway, the Forestry Department wasn’t seen in our area again until 2 weeks ago. Yep. Two weeks ago they walked up our driveway and I think John may have wet his pants. Even when all the neighbors told John if he saw them he should run – John walked right up and said hello and showed them around our property. Even offered them a chicken (luckily they couldn’t catch it). They then spoke to John and asked for his Family Book, as they are going to put this plot of land into John’s name as farming land. Yep you read right. They are going to put the land IN OUR NAME SO NO ONE CAN TAKE IT OFF US. God you are so faithful. It is the perfect timing, as John had just moved his Family Book from Chiang Mai to Chiang Rai, and would not have been able to the register the land in his name if it had still been in Chiang Mai. God had every little duck in a row for this to happen. It’s so relieving to have it official. The weight of being accountable to the people who helped us buy the land was actually really weighing on my spirit and I was so afraid to let people down. In one sense I was trying to be a good steward, and in the other I was trying really hard to stand up in faith and 100% trust in what we believed God had told us. A humbling experience - that’s for sure. And I’m excited it’s over. New challenges are coming up daily, but this week I’ve really been thinking about the saying “Its not about the destination – its about the journey”. I think we are getting too caught up in the daily stressors of life on a farm instead of enjoying the fact that God has given us a farm, and we are using it for His Glory daily. Here’s to enjoying the journey this month!Please keep us in your prayers and flick us a message or email if you can spare the time. We miss everyone SO MUCHJohn, Heidi and Charlotte xx